After taking her leave from Takagi Soichiro, Takagi Yuriko went to Takagi Saya's bedroom.
It was a room filled with the atmosphere of a princess.
"Mom!"
Seeing Takagi Yuriko's arrival, Takagi Saya immediately rushed to meet her.
Her expression was a mix of urgency and bashfulness.
Ever since she ran into Minami Rika on the road and Su Yan accidentally exposed her true feelings, she realized she did indeed harbor some kind of affection for him.
Unfortunately, Su Yan didn't seem to care about her family background, and he didn't even seem to care much about her, Takagi Saya, herself.
There was nothing she could do about it.
Once he left the Takagi estate, they might live in two completely different worlds in the future.
So, she was desperate to know if Su Yan had already left.
As long as he hadn't, she still had a chance.
Takagi Yuriko reached out to hug Takagi Saya, a smile on her lips as she gently stroked her long pink hair. She whispered, "Saya, get your things ready. We're leaving."
"Leaving?"
The pink-haired girl was confused. "Where to?"
With a twinkle in her eyes, Takagi Yuriko smiled. "We're leaving the Takagi estate with Su Yan. How does that sound? Excited?"
Takagi Saya turned her head away, acting indifferent. "I'm... I'm not."
Despite her words, the slight curl of her lips betrayed the joy she felt upon hearing the news.
She was so caught up in the moment that she didn't even notice Yuriko had said 'we' were leaving, not just 'you'.
However, Saya soon thought of something and asked hesitantly, "Wait... what about Father...?"
"Don't worry about that. I've already spoken with him. You just need to pack your things and get ready to go," Takagi Yuriko explained.
"Really?"
Takagi Saya's eyes immediately lit up.
But seeing the playful look on Yuriko's face, she quickly stopped herself.
She awkwardly fidgeted with her fingers and explained, "Ahem, Mom, that's not what I meant."
"You silly child. It's fine to trick me, but don't go tricking yourself. If you keep being this dishonest about your feelings, you're going to lose out in the end."
Takagi Yuriko shook her head, unable to suppress a chuckle. "But it's okay. I'll help you from now on."
"I... I understand. Thank you, Mom."
The pink-haired girl initially looked embarrassed, but hearing that her mother would help her filled her with delight.
In Saya's eyes, her mother, Takagi Yuriko, was a true genius.
She was perfect in every way, always handling everything with ease and grace.
It seemed as if nothing in this world could ever trouble her.
With someone like her helping, how could she lose?
However, after the initial excitement passed and her intellect regained control, Saya couldn't help but wonder.
'Help me? How is Mom going to help me?'
She thought for a while but couldn't figure it out, so she decided to give up on thinking.
Breaking free from Yuriko's embrace, she began packing her things with a light step.
Perhaps fearing that Su Yan wouldn't want to wait, she didn't take long to stuff a few changes of clothes into her bag.
She then impatiently asked, "Mom, where is Su Yan right now?"
"Follow me."
Takagi Yuriko kept it brief and led Saya out of the room.
Soon, the two arrived before Su Yan.
Su Yan glanced at Takagi Saya and asked, "What's going on? Why did you bring her along too?"
He didn't really mind her presence.
Aside from her family background and her somewhat low presence...
Takagi Saya was decent enough.
After all, she was an anime heroine, which naturally put her above the vast majority of women.
He was just curious. In the anime, it made sense to push her toward the protagonist.
After all, that was the power of the protagonist's halo.
But now, he was already spiriting away Takagi Yuriko, a pillar of the Takagi family.
And the husband was willing to throw Saya into the mix as well?
If that was the case, Su Yan could only praise the man for his generosity.
It really fit the peculiar cultural tropes of the island nation.
"What do you think? Excited? It's a buy-one-get-one-free deal. You've hit the jackpot, and we're mother and daughter, you know." Faced with Su Yan's question, Takagi Yuriko winked at him teasingly.
"Could you not make those kinds of jokes?"
Su Yan rolled his eyes, then turned to grab Saya's hand and said, "Takagi, promise me, don't ever act like Yamauchi again, okay?"
"Who's Yamauchi?"
Takagi Saya's head was spinning.
'What did he mean by bringing me along too?'
'Didn't you go talk to my parents so I could go back with you?'
'And what was this buy-one-get-one-free thing Mom mentioned?'
'And who is this Yamauchi Su Yan is talking about?'
She didn't understand. She didn't understand any of it.
The pink-haired girl turned her head, looking at Takagi Yuriko with a blank stare, hoping for an answer.
Seeing this, Yuriko walked over to Saya, patted her head, and repeated the story she had told Su Yan earlier.
Once the story was finished, she immediately said to the girl, "So, Saya, remember not to call me Mom anymore. Call me Aun... actually, just call me big sister."
It was fine when she was little, but now that everything was out in the open, it wasn't appropriate for Saya to call her Mom.
But 'Aunt'? She felt that sounded too old; she was still in her prime.
And...
Yuriko glanced at Su Yan standing nearby.
In short, it wasn't appropriate.
Calling her 'big sister' was much better.
After hearing this, the already confused Saya became even more bewildered.
'What do you mean my mom isn't my mom? But my grandfather's illegitimate daughter?'
'And she wants me to call her big sister?'
'And most importantly, am I really just the freebie in a buy-one-get-one-free deal?'
'Is this how you said you'd help me?'
For a moment, she didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Takagi Saya scratched her hair frantically, feeling like she was about to lose her mind.
Su Yan patted her on the shoulder and said earnestly, "You get it now? So, Takagi, please don't ever follow in Yamauchi's footsteps."
If Saya hadn't gone around calling everyone 'Mom' back then, would she have mistaken Takagi Yuriko for her own mother?
If she hadn't made that mistake, would this awkward situation be happening now?
So, it was all Yamauchi's fault.
"Alright, since everything's packed, let's go."
Without giving Saya a chance to argue, he picked up the Murata blade he had just acquired from the Takagi family and turned to leave.
This was the very sword Busujima Saeko would use later in the anime.
The Murata blade was his reward for bringing Takagi Saya back.
Even though he was taking her right back out with him...
The reward was non-refundable.
Come to think of it, for a round trip like this, the Takagi family should really pay him another reward.
No, make that two rewards.
At that thought, Su Yan looked at the Murata blade in his hand, then looked up at Takagi Yuriko and Takagi Saya.
After a moment of reflection, he reached a conclusion.
"Wait, that's not right. I'm basically cleaning them out!"
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